Why it's time for tea

SUCCESS is brewing for former nurse turned entrepreneur Jayne Harvey. After coming across a `miracle' slimming tea from across the pond, Jayne decided to hang up her nurse's uniform and set up her own business - Wu 4u .

After coming across a `miracle' slimming tea from across the pond, Jayne decided to hang up her nurse's uniform and set up her own business - Wu 4u .

Now only six weeks in, orders for the natural diet product have topped £10,000 and Jane says she is confident of hitting the half-a-million pound mark in the first year of trading.

Jayne says the idea came about after a friend returned from a trip to America claiming to have found a miracle tea - wu long - that helped him shed more than two stone.

She says: "I was sceptical at first but he assured me he hadn't altered his diet in any way. So I decided there must be something in it.

"When I tried to buy the tea though, I was surprised by how difficult it was to get hold of in the UK. That's when it struck me that there might be an opportunity to be the first in the market with a product that could do really well."

Jayne approached Infusium , the leading brand of wu long tea in the United States, and asked to be its UK distributor. She says: "Almost immediately I was given an exclusive contract and had to work very quickly to form a company, and get all the banking facilities in place.

Whirlwind

"I went from discussing an idea in early August, to taking the first order early September. It has been a real whirlwind."

Wu long tea, which is grown in China and does not contain any additives or diet aids, claims to reduce cravings as well as boosting energy levels. The tea is distributed from New York and is delivered within two working days.

Jayne adds: "This business model is a great option for someone in the same start-up position as me.

"The products are ordered on the Internet and sent straight to the customer so the overheads are greatly reduced as I do not have to pay for storage and import costs.

"Of course if it became more financially viable to order our stock in bulk then it is something that I would consider, but at the moment as we build up a name for ourselves this seems to be the most secure way of doing things."